Coronavirus: The first global health emergency

Coronavirus: The first global health emergency

Last year the world was burdened by tariffs as the US and China played tit-for-tat, both sides increasing import tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods. Now, the coronavirus is said to “sideswipe the global economy”, the virus, which has killed more than 500 people and sickened thousands, is taking a heavy toll on China’s economy. With tens of millions of Chinese people quarantined inside their cities and thousands of factories closed, it’s already clear that the epidemic is going to impact world trade.

Uncertainty over the virus has resulted in China isolating the outbreak by shutting down cities. Many factories and transport hubs have been closed to prevent the deadly viral infection spreading. Factory closures are playing havoc with international firms, even giants like Apple stating this weekend it will close all of its stores and corporate offices in China through February 9th. The company, which employs 10,000 people in China, is also contending with closure of the factories that produce components for the products it sells around the world.

Many are drawing comparisons to the SARS crisis of 2003 to 2004, but for the $5.29 trillion travel and tourism industry, the epidemic could turn out to be even worse this time around, at least for the economy. President Trump has signed an order denying entry to foreign nationals who have traveled to China within the past two weeks and issues a bright-red Level 4 China travel advisory.

Economists have predicted that the virus will impact the global growth in the short term, estimating a 0.4 percentage-point reduction in the first quarter.  Although Andy Xie stated in the South China Morning post “the economy will bounce back when the virus fades.”

Unfortunately, the extended shut down of factories across China may affect order production and delivery of some TyTek products. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. 

On a more positive note, here in the Ohio, our new Director of Emergency Preparedness, Ryan Burke (ryan@tytekgroup.com) has been recognized for his work supporting the Butler County EMA and Butler County's preparation for a potential Coronavirus event.

Ryan spent a total of 20 hours in Butler County's Emergency Operations Center assisting in coordination and communication between key stakeholders, including working with Butler County Fire Chiefs, Ohio Department of Public Safety, Ohio Fire Marshal's Office and the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation to address issues related to First Responder safety.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact your TyTek representative.